You will need to sign on with your LLLID (La Leche League ID) before you can post. If you have never claimed your LLLID, create your LLLID now. To sign in, click the LLLID Sign On button in the upper right corner. Enter your LLLID Alias and click the button again.

Re: Currently pump weaning

Originally Posted by @llli*auderey

you're welcome to tell your dh that nursing is what kept my 17 month old out of the hospital for 5 days of parainfluenza (before he finally got so congested we did spend 2 nights there). so says me and the ER nurse. i'd say that's a pretty good medical reason to continue.

He seemed to be a little more supportive last night when we were discussing her starting to have cow's milk during the day. He said "so she'll have cow's milk during the day and you'll nurse her in the evenings when you're with her?" So maybe he is starting to see the light but I will keep that information in mind if I need to defend my extended nursing again.

Re: Currently pump weaning

Do you ever give you LO cow's milk when you are with him/her after turning a year? Like maybe during the day on the weekends, in addition to any nursings? I'm still so nervous about my milk supply dwindling. I have only been pumping once a day at work all week and my output is now down to an ounce on each side 6 hours after our first nursing session of the day (before daycare/work and upon waking). I'm guess I just afraid that this is the begining of the end. Nursing is still the only way I can get her to sleep at night and during the night and I don't know what I would do without it.

Re: Currently pump weaning

Personally, no, I don't give LO cow's milk when we are together. I just nurse. I'm not trying to suggest that your supply will evaporate if you do give cow's milk here and there, but if you're working then those weekends are your special time to nurse and bond! I just love, love, love having LO draped all over me drinking her milk. And honestly... it seems like if you did give LO cow's milk, it would be to please DH - at least that's the sense I get from your posts. So if you don't want to give the cow's milk, maybe you need to keep talking about it with him, and how important this is for both you and the baby. I know, not necessarily easy, but worth it if it let's you keep BF'ing!

Re: Currently pump weaning

i drink cow's milk, and ds loves it. he started drinking it more regularly (at least a cup a day) when he went to half-time daycare at 15 months - i pretty much was around him all the time & nursed on demand until then - and continued to nurse on demand nights & weekends without any problem until >20 months. i think if cow milk is a normal part of your family's diet, there's no reason not to give it to a toddler. but it's a pretty much unrelated issue to pump weaning and continuing to nurse nights/weekends!

Re: Currently pump weaning

Well, as I understood the question, it's about giving cow's milk when mom and baby are together, RATHER than nursing - or at least the potential that if baby gets cow's milk during that time, she'll be less interested in nursing. I agree, it's fine to give cow's milk to a toddler (absent a milk sensitivity, of course), but I prefer it if baby drinks the cow's milk when we're not together, rather than when there's the option of getting my milk!

Re: Currently pump weaning

My question was actually due to DD being so distracted during the day most of the time. I thought that by giving her a bottle/sippy with a little bit of milk on occasion during the day if she wasn't nursing very much would keep her hydrated. I was also thinking that if DH and I wanted to go do something together w/o LO we could have someone watch her and provide cow's milk while we weren't together. Or would she be okay without it as long as we nursed before and after our separation. I think DH really wants us to be able to go and do something together without her every once in awhile. We haven't really gone any where together without her since she was born.

Re: Currently pump weaning

I think in terms of hydration, giving her either milk or water is fine. Same thing when you want to go out with DH. It's the same concept as when you're at work - if you're nursing 3-5 times/24 hours otherwise, you don't need to give additional milk, although it's fine if you do. The nice thing is, whereas before a year you're pretty much committed to either nursing or pumping every few hours, after a year you have the luxury of going on a 4 or 5 or 6 hour date with DH (or working all day) without having to worry about milk!

Re: Currently pump weaning

One more question regarding this pump weaning experience I'm going through. DD turned 1 last Wednesday and I've started slowly incorporating the cow's milk into her diet at daycare. I've also gone down to one pump a day since Tuesday of last week. Starting Thursday night I haven't been able to nurse DD to sleep. She nurses for shorter than she used to (prior to introducing cow's milk). She seems to be asleep but then as soon as I put her down in her crib she is awake and crying/screaming. I'll rock her for awhile, try to nurse her again, etc. but this results in an hour or more or trying to get her to stay asleep in her crib once I put her down. Could this be in relation to the cow's milk? I'm thinking maybe another tooth coming in or maybe she isn't getting as much bm while nursing so she is unlatching before she is totally asleep. Or could it be she is getting too much milk or solids throughout the day? Here is her intake during the week:

5:30 Nurse (unless she wakens earlier around 4am then I skip this nursing session)
8:30-9 Previously recvd 3oz of BM and cereal, now getting 4oz cow's milk and cereal
12:00ish Previously 3oz of BM and solids, now 3-4oz cow's milk and solids
3:00 Previously 2oz of BM, now 3oz of cow's milk
5:00ish Nurse
6-6:30 Solids
8:00-8:30 Nurse to sleep (or at least attempt to nurse to sleep these days)
She seems to go through phases where she'll sleep through the night for quite awhile then all of a sudden she stops and wakes up usually once rarely more than once. Currently she is either waking once during the night sometime or just waking earlier than normal but does nurse back to sleep every time.

The pediatrician had told me she shouldn't have more than 12oz of cow's milk if we were still nursing. Her daycare caregiver hasn't mentioned any problems during the day.What do you ladies think?